c'mon Chord.. Hosanna - 9 & Omana pennae = 8 ?? They both deserve 1 notch Higher.
Hosanna takes me on a dream. btw, I also favored Amazon to iTunes.. nothing matches a real Hard cover CD :) On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 10:44 AM, ichord <[email protected]> wrote: > > > First of all, I do not support piracy. I wanted to wait until Tuesday > before hearing the songs and eventually writing a review, but the weaker > part of me got the upper hand this time and I caved in. Please forgive me. I > assure you that I did order the CD from Amazon and awaiting that in the > mail. > > If there's a distinct trend that I see in ARR's music over time, it's his > reduced emphasis on musical adventurism and acrobatics and increased > emphasis on subtle musical forms within a composition, often perceived > subjectively as "not living up to his own standards". I don't agree with > that notion since it's ARR who recreates his own standards with each > release, just like destroying his own ego before a compositional session. > The burden of responsibility to recognize this is up to the listener, who > may be challenged and confounded by expectations and biases, which is normal > and natural. Again, these are trends only and just from my observational > standpoint...nothing is black and white or exclusionary. This trend may be a > function of two forces: 1)Age (emphasizing more of a gestaltic perspective) > 2) Progressive evolution as part of a unique artist whose mindset is bent on > conceptual expansion and really trying hard to avoid being typecasted, > escaping from his own set trails to form new and distinct roads. The music > of VTV is a major step in AR's evolutionary process as an artist who's never > content with the status quo, or even his own previous success. Remember, > it's the artist over the entertainer, and in VTV, it's the pure artist > within ARR, even beyond musician, that is in the driver's seat. I will not > comment on the lyrics since I don't understand Tamil. > > 1) Omanna Penne: > Steady and soothing.....a composition that oozes with spiritualness and > introspection. I love how AR juxtaposes the Western rhythms with the > Carnatic raagas first by the female voice, and weaving throughout the > stylistic Nadaswaram, whose roots are deeply carnatic, but expressed so > universally in this track. Wonderful singing by Benny and the Nadaswaram > ending is surely a page from the Rehna Tu continuum outro. Nothing fancy in > this composition, but the feeling left behind is extrenmely elevating and > cleansing. Fantastic start. (8/10) > > 2) Anbil Avan: > ARR at his playful best. He must have had a lot of fun putting this track > together. There is nothing heavy or mindblowing about this track, but what > makes it work for me is the joyful innocence in the melody and the very > interesting sonic arrangements using a Shehnai type sound juxtaposed with a > church organ sound. The musical interlude that has this also has some very > nice, quick chord progressions that defy banality. The melody sticks easy > and would be a fun song to dance with. (7/10) > > 3) Vinnathaandi Varuvaayaa: > Wow......what a minimalistic impact! Minimalistic impact is something that > I have been missing from Rahman's ouevre in recent films, but here it is, in > its full glory and form. Using a minimalistic sound template for a title > song is quite bold and outside the box, but boy does it work for me!!! The > acoustic strings (guitar? harp?) along with vibes and small bells create > such a unique, peaceful ambience in this song that transports me into a > dreamlike world. Beautiful string additions in the mid section only add > depth to amazing vocals, chords, and heartfelt emotions in this gem, but > likely to be underrated track. Delicate, subtle, dreamy, ambient, soft, > restrained, soothing, warming.....I can go on and on..... Again, a track > doesn't have to be complex and adventursome to be powerful....this is the > genius of AR....he can create such a powerful ambience using minimal > quantity. (8/10) > > 4) Hosana: > There is no other composer in India who can arrange better than AR. In this > song, many of AR's strengths are showcased.....sound structure, layered, > thick, yet uncluttered arrangements, symphonic textures, haunting melody, > soothing ambience. The sound layers are so clean and crisp....that beautiful > strumming acoustic guitar is so nice!!! Also worthy of metion is the high > toned Scottish flavored flute and the subtle mandolin rhythms in sync with > the main rhythms, punctuated by the pulsating string sections. The female > choir with the angelic expression is one of the most beautiful choir sounds > I've heard. This song sticks to you and won't let go. A complete masterpiece > IMO that is one of the best songs that ARR has composed in recent years. > (9/10) > > 5) Kunnukkul Kannai > Another playful techno oriented track with some pleasing electronic > arrangements. The unique feature of this track for me are the string quartet > type rhythmic accents throughout that give this youth song a very Western > classical feel. Relatively simple by composition and sound, but again, a > nice dance number with good melody. Rahman not living up to his standards on > this one? Well, that's up to you to decide, but it's an enjoyable one for > me, though If I had to pick my least favorite in this soundtrack, it's this > one. (7/10) > > 6) Mannipaaya > I was looking forward to this song ever since I knew Shreya and AR would be > singing it, a romantic duet. The song has everything I could hope for in a > romantic duet....breathtaking melody, beautiful soundscapes, sophisticated > arrangements, gentle ambience, subtle symphonic artistry. I love the piano > backdrop and so many of the symphonic instruments can be heard in > isolation...oboe, clarinet, tympany, flute, etc. A very subtle masterpiece > in my opinion, that can only be appreciated by those with a certain musical > sensitivity and emotional open-ness, and of course, who like mushy romantic > numbers! The melody is quite drawn out with long contours, so it's not a > song that's easily melodically remembered the first time go, but certainly > sticks with you with repeated exposure. Strengths of this track...mood, > delicate arrangements, subtle artistry, certain melodic sections, innocence, > sincerity. One of the album's highlights for sure and I hope it's picturized > well (9/10) > > 7) Aaromale > Wow.....just wow!!! AR takes a page from the Pink Floyd era, but nothing > here is lifted or copied. Sensual, stylistic, clean acoustic guitar playing > along with passionate and mindblowing vocals by Alphonse make this track > simply mindblowing. What is so unique about this song is again, minimalistic > impact with sound, instruments, but also chordal architecture.......there > are only 2 alternating chords being used in the entire song!! Can you > believe it? The chorus part which begins with "Susti Susti" harks on raaga > Bhimpalas to create a magical effect....imagine...juxaposing a 2 chord > bluesy guitar riff with a raaga based melody.....only AR....only AR.... The > added percussions increasing the tempo only add to the intensity and > sinisterness to this pathbreaking and out of the box track. And man, what an > ending...the way the vocals fade out......oh man!!!! The ambience created is > just out of this world....it leaves me stunned, mesmerized, in awe. > (10/10)!!! > > General highlights of this album include minimalistic impact, originality, > very sophisticated and classy arrangements, incredibly strong ambience and > sound quality, and soothing influence. I don't think anyone will be > complaining about sound issues in this album like we saw for Blue, as ARR I > think paid a lot more attention to that aspect this time around, perhaps > keeping our "Blue" feedback in mind??? The soundtrack also has a wide range > of styles, sounds, musical forms that keep you interested. Because of the > highly international, situational, and somewhat unconventional nature of the > songs, these will only be appreciated most with time, post movie visuals, > and by those who are most open minded about music in general. Those who only > like the antara-mukhda type film songs will find the listening experience to > be awkward and just too esoteric. Also, except for the first track with > carnatic raagas, most of the rest of the album is void of obvious ethnic > Indian sounds/styles/forms, consistent with the international and more > universal musical approach. This again, may be a turn off to some. Like all > new ARR albums, esp. ones like this that have some unconventional and new > elements, it will take time to grow. > > My overall rating....9/10. A distinct highlight of ARR's career...one of > the very finest musical packages you will find anywhere in the world today, > not because of its complexity, wizzardry, or dynamics, but for sincerity, > ambience, mood, minimalism, subtlety, and overall spiritualness. A nice > instrumental track addition would have made this album perfect for me. > > > -- "All you need to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you" - Gandalf the Gray.
